For all the problems the Broncos continue to have with their running game, particularly near the goal line, coach Josh McDaniels made one thing clear Monday: Tim Tebow is not the solution.

“We’re not going to do that in short yardage,” McDaniels said. “People who mention that, I don’t know, that’s ridiculous.”

Tebow, the rookie first-round draft pick quarterback who become a collegiate legend and a Heisman Trophy winner in part because of bruising running style, has not played since taking two snaps and rushing for 2 yards against Jacksonville on Sept. 12. Neither of those plays came in the red zone, and neither was in short-yardage situations.

But wouldn’t the player who scored 57 rushing touchdowns at the University of Florida be an option for the Broncos now? No way, McDaniels said.

For now, Tebow remains a work-in-progress quarterback, in competition with Brady Quinn for the backup job behind Kyle Orton. Quinn was the No. 2 Sunday against the Colts, with Tebow inactive for the first time this season.

“Whatever they tell me each week, I’m going to do,” Tebow said Monday. “I’m going to try to handle my role, and every week, try to improve in practice so I can create more of a role. That’s my goal.”

The Broncos haven’t discarded the “Tebow Package” pages from the playbook, but McDaniels appears to have no plans to use Tebow in place of a tailback.

“Snapping the ball to a shotgun quarterback on third-and-1? If we can’t get a third-and-1 some other way, we’ve got bigger problems,” McDaniels said.

Indeed, that appears to be true.

The Broncos, with a first-and-goal at the 1-yard line Sunday against Indianapolis, failed to score a touchdown on three running plays by Laurence Maroney (two up the middle, one to the left) and one pass play (a fade from Kyle Orton intended for Demaryius Thomas). This came a week after the Broncos needed three tries from the 1-yard line for Knowshon Moreno to score a touchdown against the Seahawks.

The Broncos have scored only five touchdowns in 13 red-zone drives this season.

“There’s no part of the field where your ability to execute is more glaring, in either direction,” McDaniels said. “When you execute very well, you can score, and when you don’t execute very well, you usually have trouble scoring. There’s no in between.”

Yet the Broncos appear content to continue using Maroney, Moreno (whenever he returns from his second hamstring injury) and Correll Buckhalter in short-yardage situations, and Tebow does not seem close to returning to the field.

Coaches decided to make Quinn the backup for the first time this season against the Colts after evaluating both quarterbacks in practice last week, deciding Quinn would be better prepared to run the specific plan the Broncos had for the Colts should something have happened to Orton.

The backup quarterback job will continue to be a fluid situation, McDaniels said, depending on each opponent, as well as the potential for inserting Tebow for specific plays.

“We’re going to let them get ready for the game, and however practice goes and their preparation and whatever we feel is necessary for the game, I think we’re just going to make the best decision on a week-to-week basis,” McDaniels said.

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